Published 1:00 am, Thursday, March 9, 2006

Zachary Jay Elson
, 24, faces up to 20 years in prison for the attack when he is sentenced April 13. But he could spend even more time behind bars because of other crimes he committed before the September 2004 assault on then-WestConn senior
Courtney Regan
.
A six-member jury deliberated for more than 5½ hours over two days before returning guilty verdicts on charges of first-degree assault and unlawful restraint. They found Elson not guilty of attempted first-degree assault.
"We're satisfied with the verdict and are happy the trial is over," a Regan family spokesman said. Members of Elson's family left the courthouse without talking to a reporter.
In the weeks after the attack, WestConn officials instituted a number of enhanced security measures, including locking classroom buildings after the last class of the day concludes.
Students who want to work in a classroom on weekends or after hours now have to swipe their identification card and enter a four-digit security code into a small computer at the entrance.
The incident also resulted in an increase in the size of the WestConn police department, to 21 certified and nine non-certified officers. That allows for increased patrols at both the downtown and west side campuses, university spokesman

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detectives and WestConn officers who investigated the attack.
But the case ultimately hinged on the credibility of Elson and Regan, then 24 and a senior a few credits short of graduation.
Elson, who was homeless and living out of his car, acknowledged going to the downtown campus in hopes "making friends" when he encountered Regan, who was working alone after hours in a third-floor classroom at White Hall.
She said Elson approached her on the pretext of searching for a lost cell phone and tried to start a conversation, but she eventually discouraged him.
He left, but returned a short time later and put a wooden-handled steak knife to her neck, Regan said. She fought him off, but sustained cuts to her chin and hand in the ensuing struggle.
Elson admitted causing the injuries, but said they were the result of an accident that occurred because he was intoxicated.
Jurors got the case after Judge
Carl Schuman
finished instructing them on the law Tuesday afternoon. They had only one question for the court on Wednesday morning, asking what their next step would be if they acquitted Elson on the first-degree assault count.
But any hopes for a not guilty verdict evaporated when the jury returned to the courtroom just before 3:45 p.m.
As Regan, surrounded by the family members who were at her side through much of the trial, held her month-old baby, the jury forewoman pronounced Elson guilty of the assault count, the most serious of the three charges against him.
Prosecutor
Warren Murray
said he would seek an additional 10 years in prison for Elson because he was free on bail after pleading guilty to other crimes when he attacked Regan.
At the time of the assault, Elson was due to be sentenced in a state court in Norwalk for a variety of charges, including burglary, larceny and criminal mischief, Murray said.